After reading your feedback and locking ourselves in dim, fluorescent-lit rooms for much deliberation, we have decided that we are NOT going to convert Valor to Justice and Justice to gold when 5.2 ships. Current Valor items will continue to require Valor in 5.2, and will be offered at a discount as listed in the PTR patch notes. Given that PvE and PvP currencies function quite a bit differently, Conquest will still convert to Honor and Honor to gold as previously discussed.

We’re making the Valor change for a couple of reasons, but primarily because we think a down-conversion under the new Mists endgame progression model just feels mean. We traditionally viewed this conversion process with each patch as a necessary evil to discourage hoarding—it’s not fun to feel like you can’t spend your Valor in the weeks before a new patch because you have to be ready to buy everything up. However, we have a Valor cap now to prevent excessive hoarding, many of the Valor rewards in 5.2 require raiding to acquire (for example, many of the ilevel-522 rewards are tied to Shado-Pan Assault reputation, which you’ll only gain rep with by raiding in the Throne of Thunder), and the LFR version has an ilvl-480 requirement, meaning you can’t hoard Valor on a brand new 90 and jump straight to the best stuff. All of these factors being considered, it doesn’t make good sense to take Valor away from players in this context. Down-conversions may occur for future patch releases depending on the circumstances, but for 5.2 it’s safe and snuggly where it is.

In addition, we’re making a change to ensure that there are some gear rewards available via the Kirin Tor Offensive and Sunreaver Onslaught, the two new factions with which players can earn reputation in 5.2 without raiding. The patch was shaping up to be a real challenge for players who don’t like raiding (including LFR), as our original design meant that no new Valor rewards would be available to them without needing to run Throne of Thunder. You can expect to see the Valor rewards on the Kirin Tor Offensive and Sunreaver Onslaught quartermasters updated on the 5.2 public test realms in the near future. These rewards are ilevel 496 and will only accommodate a few slots, as they aren’t intended to be very attractive to raiders (including those running LFR), but should give non-raiders something to shoot for in 5.2.

If you’ve already made plans and sank your Valor, don’t fret! As of this announcement, and even if you have 0 Valor currently, you still have enough time to cap out at 3000 Valor before patch 5.2 goes live. (It’s math!)

We’d love to hear your feedback about this change, and how you’re planning to earn, save, and spend Valor before the patch releases

Arcane Blast Blasts the target with energy, dealing 6,500 Arcane damage. Each time you cast Arcane Blast, the damage of all Arcane spells is increased by 50%40% and mana cost of Arcane Blast is increased by 150%120%. Effect stacks up to 4 times and lasts 10 sec or until any Arcane damage spell except Arcane Blast is cast. 8% of Base Mana. 30 yd range. 2.5 sec cast.

Static Wound Jin'rokh the Breaker statically constricts the target, inflicting 15,000 Nature damage per stack to all players when taking melee attacks. This effect stacks, but reduces20,000 Nature damage per stack when taking melee attacks. Additionally inflicts a third of that damage to other players. This effect stacks, but decreases in potency over time. Unlimited range. Instant. 3 sec cooldown.

Thundering Throw Jin'rokh the Breaker throws his current target at a distant Mogu statue, breaking the statue and inflicting 0 Physical damage. Additionally inflicts 200,000 Nature damage to other players within 14 yards of the point of impact, stunning them for 9 sec. Unlimited range. Instant.6 sec. Unlimited range. Instant.

Thundering Throw Jin'rokh the Breaker throws his current target at a distant Mogu statue, breaking the statue and inflicting 0 Physical damage. Additionally inflicts 200,000 Nature damage to other players within 14 yards of the point of impact, stunning them for 9 sec. Unlimited range. Instant.6 sec. Unlimited range. Instant.

Note that the Tyrannical Primal Diamond was changed to be epic rather than legendary in a PTR patch, and is not related to this quest line.

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

With the release of Mists of Pandaria, we introduced a new Legendary quest line, available to all classes and factions. Heroes looking to gain one of these newly introduced Legendary items must meet the Black Prince, Wrathion, and embark on a journey to prove their worth. For those familiar with the Rogue Legendary quest line, Fangs of the Father, you may remember working to rescue Wrathion from the clutches of the Red Dragonflight. Once free of both the Red Dragonflight and the taint of the Black Dragonflight, Wrathion set his sights on taking down the rest of his corrupted family.

Since the death of Deathwing and the killing off his siblings, Wrathion has set up shop in the Tavern in the Mists located between the Valley of Four Winds and Kun-Lai Summit. He has a new mission now, involving both the Horde and Alliance.

Let’s get caught up with the quest line so far and take a peek at what’s to come in patch 5.2: Rise of the Thunder King.

Mists of Pandaria

Stranger in a Strange Land
Beginning with the receipt of a Mysterious Note, you’ll be asked to seek out “The Black Prince” in the Tavern in the Mists within the Veiled Stair. Rogues who have completed the Fangs of the Father quest line will receive a slightly different note and reputation.

A Legend in the Making
Wrathion, being the cordial host that he is, will offer your level-90 hero a drink and a little conversation once you’ve accepted the quest, “A Legend in the Making.” Once loosened up a bit the Prince will share a bit more about what’s on his mind. Much like his father, he has Azeroth and its fate in his sights. Don’t worry though, Wrathion views his father as “misguided,” though he does share a similar concern about the fragility of the world and how the war between the Horde and Alliance must be set aside when a darker and more sinister force must be contended with.

“A divided Azeroth cannot possibly stand against the darkness,” he says. “This war has to end. Soon. Before it consumes our strength!”

Wrathion will tell you he is in full support of your faction and believes that the answer lies with heroes such as yourself. To ensure that you’re up to the task, you’ll need to be equipped accordingly. You’ll need to prove yourself before going on to the next step, Trial of the Black Prince.

Trial of the Black Prince
It’s time to go out into the world, meet new creatures, and then kill them in the quest, Trial of the Black Prince. By killing level-90 mantid and mogu (you’re most likely already doing this at level 90) you’ll quickly gain the reputation with Wrathion and open up the next quest in the line.

Rogues who have done the Fangs of the Father Legendary quest line won’t need to prove themselves to attain Honored reputation with him. Wrathion will consider your previous dealings proof enough that he can trust in you.

*Note - As of Patch 5.1 you can also earn faction in Krasarang Wilds by killing opposite faction NPCs.

The Strength of One’s Foes
Once you’ve reached Honored, you’ll return to the Black Prince for your next task. He’ll want you to acquire 10 Sigils of Power and 10 Sigils of Wisdom from fallen foes in Mogu’Shan Vaults, Terrace of Endless Spring, and Heart of Fear in the quest, The Strength of One’s Foes.

*Note – Sigils have a chance to drop in Raid Finder though may not be collected as quickly as within Normal or Heroic versions of these Raids in which they are dropped with each boss kill.

This place would be lovely with a new coat of paint and a little hazardous waste clean-up.

Fear Itself
“The timid feel fear before trouble starts; the cowards feel fear as trouble happens. The bravest among us feel fear only after the troubles have been taken care of.”

Turning in the sigils will result in a new quest, Fear Itself, in which you’re asked to kill the Sha of Fear in Terrace of Endless Spring and bring Wrathion back a Chimera of Fear.

*Note- This item can be looted within Raid Finder, Normal, and Heroic versions of Terrace of Endless Spring. The Chimera of Fear will also drop off the Sha of Fear even if you’ve already killed it. So in some cases you may get your last sigil from the this boss kill, go turn in, and then think you have to wait until next week to get the Chimera of Fear . . . but you don’t. It will still drop on the next kill even if you can’t get item drops. Just make sure to loot the boss since it isn’t automatically placed in your inventory.

Breath of the Black Prince
Once you’ve turned in the Chimera of Fear, Wrathion asks you to meet him at Mason’s Folly to complete the quest, Breath of the Black Prince. There’s a pathway just past the Black Market Auction house or you can just hop on your flying mount and meet him there. Once there, you’ll be able to choose one of the three proffered Legendary gems: Crystallized Dread, Crystallized Terror, and Crystallized Horror. This gem can then be placed into a Sha-Touched weapon. You’ll also earn the Achievement for completing Chapter 1: Trial of the Black Prince.

Shady dealings down a shady path.

Chapter II: Wrathion’s War

Your journey doesn’t end there. With the release of patch 5.1, the quest to prove your worth to Wrathion and earn a Legendary item goes on. You’ll be offered two quests: Incoming… and The Measure of a Leader.

The Measure of a Leader
In The Measure of a Leader you’ll speak to Wrathion about either Varian Wrynn or Garrosh Hellscream (depending on your faction). Again, being such a generous host, he’ll offer you some food. Eating it will provide a buff and reveal more about the leader in question.

The Prince’s Pursuit – A Test of Valor
Once more, Wrathion sends you out into Pandaria to prove your worth in the quest, “The Prince’s Pursuit.” This time, you’ll spend time earning Revered reputation with him by slaying members of the opposite faction in Krasarang Wilds. He’ll also want you to take on “A Test of Valor,” which will grant you an Achievement once you earn 6000 Valor.

A Change of Command and Glory to the Horde/ The Lion Roars
Depending on your faction, the quest, A Change of Command will task you with killing one of the opposite factions leaders: High Marshall Twinbraid at Lion’s Landing or Warlord Bloodhilt at Domination Point.

You’ll also be asked to go forth into an organized battlefront in the quests Glory to the Horde and The Lion Roars and win a battle in the Temple of Kotmogu and the Silvershard Mines. Simply queue up for one of these Battlegrounds and show the opposite faction your might.

The Soul of the Horde / Call of the Packmaster
Once you’ve turned in the previous quests, you’ll be given a new one. Depending on your faction, you’ll either get The Soul of the Horde or Call of the Packmaster. Wrathion will want to share with you what he’s learned of either Garrosh Hellscream or Varian Wrynn. Once he’s finished his observations, you’ll earn the Eye of the Black Prince which will add a prismatic socket to a Sha-Touched weapon and will earn you the Chapter II: Wrathion’s War Achievement.

Patch 5.2: Rise of the Thunder King

The Legendary Quest Continues: Chapter III: Two Princes

The story goes on in Patch 5.2: Rise of the Thunder King and so too does the journey with the Black Prince, Wrathion, guiding the way. With the threat of the Thunder King and the mogu, Prince Wrathion seeks to delve even deeper into the source of mogu power. He’ll enlist Azeroth’s mightiest heroes once more to aid him in finding out what it is. The search for information will take these heroes into the depths of the Thunder King’s Palace, and pit them against trials of perseverance and skill. Along the way, they’ll unlock the secrets to a new Legendary metagem, Crown of Heaven.

The game is afoot, but who will win in the end?

5.2 Changes and Things to Look Forward to
As with many patches, there will be new additions and changes to the Legendary quest line. Here’s a look at what’s in store (Spoiler Free Zone):

Additions:

New solo Scenario available to all class types. You’ll be able to aid Wrathion in constructing a weapon at the Thunder Forge

Patch 5.2 - Isle of Thunder Update
Isle of Thunder goes over to a new stage tomorrow, so let's take a look at the current stage. Upon completing the The Assault on Zeb'tula (Video) or The Assault on Shaol'mara, you have established a small base on the island. You can find Lor'themar Theron, Jaina, Vereesa Windrunner, a quartermaster, repair vendor, and an innkeeper here.

Before tackling any daily quests, you need to select your quest set for the day. You can choose between the PvE quests with PvE rewards (slightly slower to complete) or the PvP quests with PvP rewards (slightly faster to complete).

The PvE quests involve doing a set of four quests in three areas, and then a final quest to kill an elite. While questing in the Ihgaluk Crag, you are transformed into a Saurok, allowing you to run quickly, jump higher, travel without being attacked, and take almost no fall damage. This disguise is dropped whenever you are in combat.

The PvP quests can be done without engaging in combat with any other players, killing guards at the other faction's base instead. If you are on a PvE realm, be aware that taking any of the PvP quests will flag you for PvP while they remain in your logs.

If you really need more rep from them, you are able to apply your bonus reputation from the first Scenario and Heroic Dungeon of the day towards the faction as well, earning an extra 750 reputation from the dungeon and 325 from the scenario.

We are separating out Ancestral Guidance into a damage conversion number and a healing conversion number in order to allow for better tuning and to ultimately make the talent more attractive to Resto. I am guessing at the numbers right now, but imagine it says something like: "When you deal direct damage, 40% is copied as healing. When you deal direct healing, 60% is copied as healing."

We are changing the way Lava Burst interacts with Flame Shock. Currently, Flame Shock is required for Lava Burst to crit. This is cool rotationally but creates problems where Flame Shock dispels or swapping targets is a massive nerf to Elemental, dropping their 2.5 multiplier on Lava Burst to a 1.0. We are going to nerf Lava Burst damage, cause it to always crit (like Chaos Bolt), and then cause it to do say 50% more damage to targets afflicted by Flame Shock. The net result should be that LB + FS is still the best DPS, but failing to do so will be a 1.5 to 1.0 drop instead of a 2.5 to 1.0 drop.

Elemental's PvE damage will still be lower than we want after this change, but we want to bring up the damage of Lightning Bolt and other sources of damage together; we need to buff more than just Lava Burst to preserve the rotation... and avoid a lot of Lava Burst PvP videos.

We are going to try the suggestion where Overpower lowers the Mortal Strike cooldown by 0.5 sec. This is to avoid any conflict with the 1.0 sec GCD of Overpower causing niggling 0.5 sec holes in the rotation. See how it feels. This will be an Arms DPS increase that we're not sure they need after the Deep Wounds buff, but I'll report back if we take additional steps.

Our changes to Arcane proved very generous and Arcane has been an outlier on our DPS tests. We are going to reduce the damage from +50% per charge to +35% per charge and on mana from +150% per charge to +100% per charge.

If your post was deleted it was probably because it was A) whining, or B) doing a +1 on another post.

This is a very long thread. If it's going to remain readable (particularly if you want us to read it), everyone is going to have to do their part.

Raid Testing Schedule - February 12

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

On Tuesday, February 12, we will be testing more raid encounters in the Throne of Thunder.

Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Public Test Realms.

As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback.

Pinnacle of Storms LFR Adjustments

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Note that we are continuing to make difficulty adjustments to all parts of LFR, to both the bosses and non-boss enemies.

In general, we start out with just an across-the-board reduction to health and damage compared to Normal mode, and then rely on feedback (and our own experiences -- many of you have probably had encounter devs in your LFR raids over the course of the past days!) to make more fundamental adjustments to mechanics that are proving particularly problematic.

One of our goals is for mechanics to generally feel a bit more meaningful than they do in 5.0/5.1 LFR -- you should have to do the fight "correctly" in order to win, at least without several stacks of Determination. However, if a single misstep (or malicious act) can wipe the raid, that's never going to be a fun experience.

LFR testing and iteration will continue until we're satisfied with the final difficulty. Thanks again for testing and for your feedback!

Blue Posts

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

Patch 5.2 Too Soon?There are 16 bosses you have to clear on normal and then heroic, recruiting is hard enough since you changed your recruitment forums years back to be a giant clusterf* and to top it off, HOLIDAYS that maybe didn't matter when we were younger but now that we're not - we can't skip em anymore.
Certainly depending on how much time you can play, as well as other types of content (such as holiday events as you mention), your mileage may vary on how far into the expansion you are. It's definitely a balancing act between not enough content and too much, and it's not going to be the same player to player to player.

Re: Recruitment, you may want to try using the in-game /guildfinder tool, as well as your realm forum. The Raid and Guild Leadership forum is also a good place to seek advice on recruitment, and I'm sure some others here may also have recommendations on how to best focus your recruitment efforts.

I'm pretty irate atm and just venting but I wish you'd give us more than TWO WEEKS notice sometimes. TWO WEEKS??? Used to give us a month or two. Thanks for nothing.
I'm not aware of ever providing a month or two, we generally don't know a patch release date until a couple weeks at most before it's released. The estimate for the end of this month is still just an estimate, and could very well move.

Patch releases are dependent on many factors, not the least of which is testing and bug fixing. When we can we like to be able to give a couple weeks heads up so you can plan, and specifically prepare for currency down-conversions, as well as PvP season changes when applicable. In the past we've become a little shy about providing a heads up because if and when dates slip there's been a strong negative reaction. I think we're at a place though where the majority of people understand release dates can and do slip, and are at least appreciative of being informed.

I'm actually enjoying WoW now as opposed to 'classic'Answer can be found in the vid I posted above, game is hardly any time consuming now.
It really depends on which activity are you doing. Sure, if you only do dailies, scenarios, etc, it doesn't take much time. If you want to cap your valor points, you'll have to put some time into the game, though.

If you're chasing Heroic raid kills, you'll have to devote time as well. That's the beauty of the game these days, you can devote as much time as you want (and your reward will probably be comparable to how much time you've spent).

It doesn't matter if you don't get to see an end boss, it tells you hey I need to put some effort into this game if I want to do it, and before I get to see the end boss I have to experience the other fights as well.
For some it does. It was kinda weird for some people to see Illidan on the cinematic in TBC and never get to see him while he was current content because of .

If you don't have enough time well that is a different thing, but allow people that have or find time and put effort to feel awarded for it, don't just let everyone who can press Join LFR see and defeat the boss.
People that have time (and the will) can defeat Heroic bosses and get rewarded much more than someone seeing the content through LFR. And from time to time there're bosses that are exclusive to Heroic raiders (Algalon, Sinestra, and now Ra-den when 5.2 is released).

That's what in my opinion new WoW will never have and why old way of raiding will always be better than the current one, it simply does not feel rewarding enough for people that want to put effort and this has absolutely nothing to do with nostalgia because it's a fact, whoever raided whoever spent hours grinding/gearing after finishing what they started (eg Illidan) they could say I feel proud of myself and get a sense of accomplishment something people today will NEVER feel.
It's your opinion, so you can't make it a fact. I feel as proud of my Arthas kill as I do of my TBC/Wrath/MoP kills. It's just up to you to how much importance you wish to give to those events.

For me Arthas ranks higher than the others. Why? Because I've liked the Lich King character for a really long time and I feel his story (Arthas) was interesting to me.

Anyone saying FOR A FACT that any stage of this game was the best, is a person unable to grasp the simple concept of "subjectivity". What one considers the peak of existence for this game, others didn't even bother coming back to beyond reaching max level.
True. As much as I love those evenings in BRD with my friends, I wouldn't have the time for it today. Time changes. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Blue Tweets

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

Reputation / QuestingGC, are't quest drop chance supposed to increase w/ each mob kill & no drop, or am I imagining that pre-WOTLK patch?
They do for the most part. Some quest mechanics (use an item on a target maybe) are too complex to use that system. (Source)

Im a HM raider with just enough time to do what I love, kill bosses. I can't do dailies every day, why do you hate me?
We're trying to let you play at your own pace. It's just not feasible to force everyone to play at your pace because it varies. (Source)
You can kill bosses. Someone who invests more time might earn loot faster from charms. Why is that unfair? (Source)

Agree with Sham. Usually what frustrates me about dailies is the other players, not the quests themselves.
Agree. We want a system where it's good to see someone else of your faction, not competition for spawns or kills. (Source)

You keep saying that. Believe or not, you have to power to fix it. I'm guessing will be part of "big new feature"
We do have the power to fix it, and will, but it's not a quick fix. Shared credit just makes everything too fast and easy. (Source)

Removal of group quests makes questing completely singleplayer and not mmo
There is more outdoor group content in 5.2. Let us know how it feels. (Source)

Youdon't want "Finish in one week"? I just finished Klaxxi Reputation in one day. farming Amber Shards
Fortunately, that's not something a lot of players feel is a good use of their time. If it worked for you, great. (Source)

WorldYes, game needs a "world"as you said. Make a 10 min CD for flying mounts. Sit back and enjoy how the game improves 5x.
This is a good example of the kind of thing with potential long term benefits and a lot of short term "world is ending." (Source)

The way to FIX the AH is like GW2 does it, one AH to rule them all, no server based AH.
It's hard to corner the market or otherwise stand out when you are competing with everyone though. Might ruin the AH for many? (Source)

CRZ weakened realm community and made it pointless. If I wanted to see ppl from Y realm I'd be on Y realm not X.
The reality for many realms is you would see nobody. WoW isn't good as a single player game. (Source)

How come you haven't addressed low population realms or imbalanced ones in years, despite promising to, then?
I am very careful to never promise anything. This is why. That said, we are always talking solutions. (Source)

Not a fan of Xrealm AH, but it's ok for farmers to go from a high pop server to farm a low pop (competition). Economics much?
It's not a global economics issue. It's fun for players to e.g. corner the market, which is hard when the market is too big. (Source)

What is your opinion on what Vaneras said about the evolution of communities in WoW? forum/topic/6493569798?page=3#43
I think there is no substitute for how the game felt when everything was so new. Does anything in life stay the same after 8 years? (Source)

wanting us out in the world, is different than forcing us out there. Wanting to see content is different than having to.
One maxim of MMO design is players nearly always choose the fastest route to a reward. I referred to this as Mechanar syndrome. (Source)
Someone challenged me on that - said players farmed Mech because it was our crowning achievement in dungeon design. Sure buddy. (Source)

WoW On Sale - Prepare for the Thunder King!

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

The Thunder King’s return looms on the horizon, and to prepare for the storm, Blizzard has just slashed prices on all World of Warcraft games by 50% - 70%. Now is the time to recruit your friends to begin their epic quest in Azeroth. But hurry—this deal ends February 25 at 11:59 p.m. PST.

Patch 5.2 - Preparing to Kill a King (Feb 26th)
It looks like we will see Patch 5.2 on in roughly two weeks, or February 26th, assuming that everything goes well.

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

With 5.2 fast approaching I’ve been wanting to get my thoughts together on how I should be playing in the last couple weeks before the patch. Are there any reps I should catch up on; do I need to worry about spending currencies or upgrading items; and just in general what do I need to start doing now to maximize my play time before and after the patch releases? This isn’t going to be earth shattering info to anyone who has been following closely, but hopefully it’s a helpful reference.

So, It’s Like a Seat of Sound?
It’s probably most appropriate to start by talking about the new raid, the Throne of Thunder, as entering and clearing it is the goal for PvE progression. The raid is located on a new island, which can be reached by using a portal found in your faction’s Shado-pan camp on the west coast of Townlong Steppes. When 5.2 releases you’ll automatically receive a quest that will get you there, so no need to write that one down.

As the 5.2 raid Throne of Thunder is one continuous, sprawling dungeon, each difficulty will open in its entirety once unlocked. Normal difficulty will be available the first week, then Heroic the week after. LFR will, as usual, be broken up into sub-sections and those will be releasing over time, likely with the first section opening with Heroic in the second week, and a new section each week afterward. Of course we don’t tend to give out patch release dates ahead of time, because things can slip, but right now we’re targeting the last week of February.

To get into the LFR difficulty of Throne of Thunder you’ll need an item level of 480. A quick way to find your item level is to search for your character in the upper right search bar of WorldofWarcraft.com. Your item level is a big number in the upper right of your character’s profile. You can also see it in-game by expanding the advanced character stats.

The new LFR will require an average ilvl of 480, so get crackin'!

If you’re shy of 480 you’ve got some gearing up to do. There are a few different methods of finding and targeting upgrades. The in-game Dungeon Journal can filter by class and spec, showing you what each boss drops that’s good for you, and is actually a pretty easy and straightforward way to create a shopping list. The one downside is you’re not going to have lists of Valor-purchasable items with the Dungeon Journal to compare against. Likely the most popular strategy is to use item database sites and look for specific items (LFR / Valor / BoE), and arrange by ilvl or source. Askmrrobot.com offers an upgrade list too. I’ve also recently been using their new Find Upgrades feature, which has a bunch of useful options. It’s a premium feature so they do charge for it, but it’s free for the first week or so. If nothing else it can be a good option to just help you clear that 480 hurdle.

Upgrade 'Em While You Got 'EmLike prior raid tiers we’re down-converting Valor to Justice with the patch. This means any Valor you have before the patch will become Justice, and any Justice over the cap will be converted to gold. There is a difference this time in that current Valor items are not being changed to cost Justice, and instead their cost is just being reduced (25-50%). That means you’re not going to benefit by waiting for the down-conversion to pick up any current Valor items. You’re going to want to strategize spending Valor beforehand, if there’s anything you want to buy with Justice (and there’s new Justice-bought heirlooms coming in 5.2), or maybe even if you want the gold. With both currencies at cap you could make around 1,400 gold with the conversion, so maybe that’s even a consideration. After the patch you’ll need to build Valor back up if you want any Valor items of course, but at a reduced cost it may be an option if you’re still looking to get over that 480 hurdle.

Personally I’m not really looking to pick up any Justice items, so my plan is to spend all of my Valor before the down-conversion, and the next section describes what I’m likely to spend the majority of it on.

Later Space Mummy
Item upgrades won’t be available in 5.2, so getting those upgrades done before the patch hits is probably a good idea. Upgrades are likely coming back in 5.3 (at least for PvE), but spending the Valor now on upgrading pieces you don’t expect to replace quickly is pretty safe. Of course you could always get that lucky boss drop that completely demolishes your fully upgraded item, but those kinds of situations are par for the course.

This is one place where the Askmrrobot upgrade recommendation tool is pretty helpful for me. The rating on how best to spend Valor is quite useful. I’m over 480 so I’m personally just looking at spending Valor on upgrading my best items now.

Is that a mount!? Can it be a mount!? I want that to be a mount. GIMME DAT MOUNT

Be Less Charming Every Day
Throughout Mists of Pandaria we’ve all been working to collect Lesser Charms of Good Fortune. Once a week there’s a quest to exchange 90 Lesser Charms for 3 Elder Charms. The Elder Charms can then be used to get an additional chance at loot (bonus roll) from raid boss kills. In 5.2 the weekly quest to turn in the Lesser Charms changes, and will instead give you 3 Mogu Runes of Fate. The Mogu Runes of Fate can be used the same way, on bonus rolls, but only in the 5.2 Throne of Thunder raid and on the two new world bosses (Nalak and Oondasta). Elder Charms will still be available for the 5.0 raids, but they’ll instead be dropping from mobs in the new outdoor Thundering Isle zone.

There are a few different ways you can use this information depending on how well you’re geared, and how well geared you want to be before the patch. The new raid will require 480 item level for the LFR, and so if you’re at or above 480 you’re probably wise to just hold on to your Lesser Charms. If not, those bonus rolls may well be the quickest way to getting into the Throne of Thunder.

Personally I’m hanging on to mine. I think spending some Valor is probably the wiser course for getting over the hurdle. I do plan to still be doing dailies in 5.2, but I have enough reps at Exalted now that I don’t expect I’ll be coming across enough Lesser Charms to be overburdened and not working through my stack each week.

I'll just come back when you look like you're in a better mood...

Ketchup
As I briefly mentioned in the Currency Conversion section, 5.0 Valor items are seeing their prices reduced by 50%, and those added with the 5.1 factions (Operation Shieldwall and Dominance Offensive) will see their prices cut by 25%. In addition, the chance to get drops in the 5.0 LFR raids is being greatly increased, including the chance to get an item when using an Elder Charm for a bonus roll. All of this means gearing up alts will be a bit quicker, and if you’re not at that 480 requirement yet it should be pretty fruitful to run those raids for a few more weeks to get you there.

Sounds Like Heavy Metal
This isn’t really anything you can prepare for, but I think it’s at least worth mentioning here. In the Throne of Thunder, the Normal and Heroic raid bosses have a chance to drop an item with a new Thunderforged designation. (Normal / Heroic) Thunderforged items are 6 item levels higher than their standard counterparts. Bonus rolls can award a Thunderforged item (again, only in Normal and Heroic), so probably the only thing to plan for ahead of time is having Lesser Charms ready and waiting to exchange for Mogu Runes of Fate.

♫Said if you want to call me baby, just go ahead now♫ (Two Princes, get it? Ugh just keep reading...)

On Doomed Azeroth, Black Prince Choose You
As we’re all aware, Wrathion, the Black Prince, using his voodoo crystal ball of Black Dragonflight future-sight has determined Azeroth is headed for (more?) doom and despair. To help solve this problem he wants to give you a Legendary item, but only after you’ve gone around terrorizing the world and killing a bunch of people. Fishy. Over the course of each patch he gives you some tasks for new toys, ultimately leading to your very own Legendary item in (presumably) patch 5.4.

This is where things get a bit tricky because, up until this point, everyone has been working to obtain their Sha-Touched weapons, the gem to put into it, and adding a prismatic slot. But in 5.2 the reward veers left, no Sha-touched weapons will drop in the new raid, and the new Wrathion reward is a Legendary meta gem, which leaves your Sha-touched weapon and gem to be replaced by what will certainly be more powerful weapons in the Throne of Thunder. You will still be able to apply the prismatic slot upgrade to 5.2 raid weapons, though.

Considering the prismatic slot is usable on 5.2 raid weapons, my recommendation would be to try to catch up if you haven’t yet, but balance it against other priorities. You’d be pretty lucky to get a weapon drop your first time into the new raid, and if you’re running LFR the raid is broken up into smaller sections which open one at a time each week. So if you have more pressing matters, this is one thing you can continue to work on even after 5.2 releases and probably not be too far behind.

Well at least they don't have robots full of blood. Nevermind.

It's Not a Tabard!
In 5.2 you’ll be able to champion a Mists of Pandaria faction (except for Black Prince) by choosing a new option added to your reputation list (in the same list where you can show that rep as your XP bar). By championing a faction you can earn 750 reputation for the first Heroic dungeon each day, and 325 for the first Scenario. This allows you to augment (or avoid) daily quests with those factions to get to Exalted that much quicker.

In addition, if you have The Tillers at Exalted and all of your farm plots unlocked, you’ll be able to take on a work order each day from one of the various factions (except for Black Prince) which will reward you with additional rep.

The new reputation and quest hub in 5.2 is pretty cool; it unlocks and builds up via server progression a la Isle of Quel’danas. What will be a lot cooler for some of you though is that there are no Valor items associated with the rep. (Alliance / Horde) At least this time around, all the Valor items are tied to a raid reputation, which you can earn even through LFR. It will require boss kills though, so no ICC rep runs.

I know some people are already saying they’re going to stop doing dailies until then. I don’t know; I’m already playing more or less every day, doing a daily hub here and there isn’t going to break my time-bank, and I’m still going to be hitting Exalted quicker than if I was waiting. Up to you, but I’m hoping to have less and less 5.0 content to have to think about once 5.2 hits.

That'll Do, Tree
I think that about does it. You’ll of course want to look at mixing up food and elixirs, and gathering mats for crafted items. There’s also the new the world bosses, but that’s not content you really need to prepare for specifically, at least not to the same extent you need to gear up for a raid dungeon. It may be worth noting though that one of the world bosses, Oondasta, is intended to be crazy-difficult. If you’re not in an organized Heroic-level raid group and teaming up with other Heroic-level raid groups, you’re going to want to stick to the other world boss, Nalak; although, keep in mind Nalak unlocks with the island’s server progression, so it’s something to look forward to. Sha of Anger still has Tier-14 and Season-12 items, so that’s certainly something a lot of people will continue to hit up, and I expect it to stay pretty active even well into the new patch.

Let’s open it up to your comments! How are you planning and preparing for 5.2? Did I miss something? Any tips or tricks on how to maximize your time as you progress?

Thanks for reading, may all your bonus rolls be BiS, and I’ll see you in-game!

Micah “Bashiok” Whipple is a Community Manager for World of Warcraft and thinks you’re just the bees knees. It’s worth mentioning though that he’s deathly afraid of bees, as well as various types of pivotal hinges.

Patch 5.2 on the Background Downloader
This weekend the Launcher started downloading ~1 GB of assets for Patch 5.2. Keep in mind that this doesn't mean the patch is coming anytime soon, especially as LFR bosses still need tuning and Isle of the Thunder King still needs testing.

Patch 5.2 - Assault on Zeb'tulaAssault on Zeb'tula is the solo scenario that you experience when going through the Horde Isle of Thunder intro quest line.

Upon logging in to Patch 5.2, you will be sent to the Horde camp near Shadopan Garrison, in Townlong Steppes. Scout Captain Elsia will escort you to the Isle of Thunder and then you have a brief conversation with Lor'themar Theron. After speaking with him, he will ask for your help in establishing a base on the island.

Originally Posted by MMO-Champion

Scout Captain Elsia: Pandaren legends tell of Lei Shen, "The Thunder King." He was the brutal founder of the Mogu empire over 12,000 years ago. He united the mogu, defeated the other pandaren races, and founded a glorious nation with the slave labor of those he conquered.Scout Captain Elsia: The Thunder King built a palatial fortress on the borders of his empire. We should see it soon...Scout Captain Elsia: There! Just ahead: The Isle of the Thunder King.Scout Captain Elsia: The Pandaren are terrified that the former Emperor will try to reclaim his empire, and enslave them once again. But we have our own reasons for assisting them. I will allow Lor'themar to explain.Scout Captain Elsia: Whoa! Careful - it is nearly impossible to fly anywhere near the island!

Lor'themar Theron: Aethas, leave us for a moment.Lor'themar Theron: Hero, you have served the Horde nobly across many campaigns. I feel I can take you into confidence. Our Warchief's campaign across Kalimdor and Pandaria is pulling the Horde apart at the seams. We are here to fight the Thunder King. Justice demands it, and Hellscream is too preoccupied at Domination Point to pay attention here. But, in defeating him, we must seek out the source of his great power. We must claim it for ourselves, as leverage against our "Warchief." In the event of an uprising, we must be prepared.Lor'themar Theron: Heads up! Ha-hah! It will feel good to bloody my blade again. Against Alliance or mogu, does not matter to me.Lor'themar Theron: Enough talk. You know how precarious our position is. Between the Alliance and the Thunder King, only with the help of heroes like you can we hope to succeed here. Anar'alah belore, hero. Good luck.

Love is in the Air 2013Love is in the Air once again, at least until February 23! Not much has changed this year, other than the addition of updated Neck slot rewards.

Q4 2012 Earnings Call
There were a few more interesting points from the Q4 2012 earnings call, other than the subscriber number drop.

The majority of the decline in subscriber numbers came from China, and the number in the west was more stable.

Engagement was better in the months after the Mists of Pandaria launch than it was after the Cataclysm launch in all regions, including China.

The next WoW update should reach players "in the coming weeks".

There should be a Blizzcon 2013 announcement soon.

Since Cataclysm, players are more apt to come and go from the community. This is being addressed by providing more frequent content updates.

Blue Posts

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

PTR Class and Set Bonus IssuesI believe he said it will last 15 seconds and stack exactly how Censure does now. If that is the case we should be able to swap between two targets in that 15 second time span. However, since the stacks will get consumed it will be more difficult to keep them up on more than one target.
Our intent was that if you were building stacks of Justice and had to swap targets, you'd then be building stacks on two targets. The more generous we make the duration, the easier that is to do, but the harder it is for enemies to escape as well.

Scorch was our only way to obtain at least some mobility before it became castable while moving (yes some of us actually PvP'd as fire before this change). Before that, and at least for me, my only option to chase somebody besides keeping living bomb up was spamming icelance and tbh, I never liked it.
Another idea is to put Scorch back in the talent tree and just remove Blazing Speed. Maybe Blink just provides too much of the same niche. Scorch trumps Ice Floes at the moment, but we think we could solve that.

Any chance shadow priest PvE damage and off-healing concerns will be addressed before 5.2 goes live? Part 1 of the thread is full of them. Part 2 just became PTR world of paladincraft. Maybe make a separate paladin thread before having to close this one too?
RE: Shadow. We haven't buffed damage yet. Mind Blast is a likely candidate because it helps damage on the move and doesn't change rotation priorities. Mind Sear perhaps too. All of that is off the top of my head, so don't hold me to it.

RE: Paladins. Welcome to my world.

Your data is full of PVE Ret paladins. PVP paladins use FoJ in arenas.
I was explicitly referring to relatively high-end Arena players. Many (guessing 60% because I don't have the data right in front of me) use FoJ. The rest split between Burden and Repentance about evenly. We can't always answer why players use certain abilities, but we can usually answer what they're using.

Death Knight
- You now maintain the same percentage of health when you switch into and out of Blood Presence
- Strangulate (but not Asphyxiate) is off the GCD.

Can Hunters please see some adjustments on our end talents to make more than Glaive Toss worth taking for raids? Barrage is very limited and Powershot is useless and never taken in raids, doing less than half the DPS of Glaive Toss.
I know you've mentioned this before, but it doesn't match up with what we're seeing. Do you have a link or some other evidence we can chase down?

I may regret this, because I don't know that I can capture every one and we iterate on this stuff really rapidly. We may change a number one day and change it again the next when we look at AE or PvP damage or whatever. If frequent iteration scares you, look away! But in the interest of providing context and helping theorycrafting, I'll give it a go.

DPS Tuning Adjustments

- Arms - Increased Deep Wounds by +100%.
- Balance - Increased Starfire, Wrath and Starsurge by 9%.
- Mind Blast - Increased Mind Blast by 20%. (Yeah I know you have to stop and cast it modulo procs, but I meant in contrast to Mind Flay which makes you really plant.)

Recent datamining has shown Invocation being nerfed to reduce our natural mana regen by 100%, up from 50%.
It was that way briefly (and the PTR pull may have caught that change). Instead we are leaving Invocation at -50% mana regen, but we changed Evocation to generate 10% mana per tick for Arcane, but affected by Arcane Charges (25% per charge and consumes all charges).

The intent of this change is to try and spare you from having to do single GCDs of Evo every 3 casts, which is probably worth it but not much fun. It's a net buff to Evo total mana regen but a net nerf to frequent Evos.

A lot of Warlocks are wondering why our AOE spells are getting reduced so dramatically?
Are you referring to Seed of Corruption and Fire and Brimstone? We don't usually do 15 yard radii for AE spells. It just felt gratuitous and was causing warlocks to do a lot of extra damage in some situations without requiring any extra effort on their part. It was also a bit ridiculous with Mannoroth's Fury.

i assumed this was suppose to spread the snare from warbringer to other targets also never actually seen it in any official patch notes.. was this an error on their part or is bugged currently on the ptr?

World of Warcraft Difficulty Over TimeBUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thanks for showing your ignorance
Ah, you're welcome, I'll educately bow down my head in a sincere apology, as you have eloquently, elaboratedly and irrefutably proved through facts and your own experience that I am completely wrong about this affirmation.

If you want to say I'm wrong, at least go on and elaborate why. We all might be missing an interesting point of view just because you decided to take a shortcut that didn't add anything to the discussion.

Most of current encounters are just combination of total randomness that decides will you wipe or not (sunbeams spawning on top of the adds on Tsulong as example). It's not hard, it's just random.
So, a boss that you can predictably determine which ability is going to cast next (any vanilla boss with a DBM-like addon) is harder than a boss with more room for random abilities? Random sounds actually like a good reason to define something as hard. If you can't control it, you can't just yawn through it.

Why do you think that making the game less accessible again would bring back the old times?
This is an interesting question, especially for those of you that do consider reducing the accesibility of the game would bring back players. (As a side related note, since we're mostly talking about raiding content, remember that Patch 5.2 introduces a Heroic only boss, Ra-den).

Okay, so at this point anything I say you can easily reply with, that's not about accessibility. Pet management was removed, pets changed to be a vanilla set that all share the same three talent trees, and ammo removed. Call it what you want, I call it dumbing down.
Has the mechanic of the hunter (requiring an appropiate pet to be used at every time if you want to maximize your dps output) and its damage (you're insane if you weren't using the strongest ammo available to you) become simpler just because now you don't have to feed your pet or pick the highest dps available ammo? (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Invocation on PTR Feedback
We hear you, we really do. I’d just like to reinforce that it’s only PTR so don’t get overly upset about it, but please do continue to keep providing feedback about it, this is exactly when it’s needed the most, it’s one of the core reasons we have a PTR realm in the first place and we really do appreciate your help with tuning and balancing the game during this important stage.

So… Invocation. Duration and healing got reduced by 50%, it does seem like it should end up being the same “on average” as it is on live but I do realize that it’s actually not, it’s probably a lot more powerful for PvP as it is on the PTR right now.
I mean, the healing ends up being the same (on average, as in “healing per second”) as it is now on live, but the important fact that we have to retain here is that the heal only comes at the end of the cast, and in PvP that means a lot, it means that you can get interrupted and get no healing or DPS buff from it.

With a 3 second cast and no cooldown, things change; First, if you do get interrupted you will be able to cast it as soon as the interrupt effect wears off; Secondly, interrupting a 3 second cast (can be shortened by haste) is much harder than a 6 second one, so chances are, a mage will be able to complete his Invocations with a lot more ease.

Devs are still evaluating everything about the PTR, there isn’t much that they can’t tweak if they feel it’s necessary.

I hope that my reply is clear enough in the sense that it provides you with enough certainty and confidence about your point of view being understood, we’re definitely not ignoring you, we’ll evaluate everyone’s feedback like we always do, and you can be sure that it will be conveyed to the developers. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Blue Tweets

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

ClassesSimcraft and Raidbots is all we have. If you don't give us your data all we have is "trust us"I'll trust Raidbots
You can trust whatever you want. I'm just explaining why it's not as simple as linking to a URL and expecting us to buff you (Source)

Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)I'm just praying Blizzard botches arcane mages and we can play frost next tier.
You may jest, but this is a really insightful tweet. Now imagine all the guys who want to play Fire or Arcane. How to solve? (Source)

Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)Any chance that Holy Paladins will ever receive a way to "melee heal" like Fistweaving?
Not in the immediate plans, but I agree it would fit the paladin kit. We'll keep it in mind. (Source)

please just buff ret sust damage or give us pressure mechanics or better cc. Sucks to be useful 20 secs every 3 min.
Every time we discuss nerfing burst and buffing sustain, hundreds of Rets cry no. (Source)

Today I had to bench myself as the raid leader on Sha of Fear 10m H progress because Ret DPS is terrible. Any buffs in sight?
I'm assuming you understand the problem where DPS is very hard to measure on that fight since everyone is so spread out. (Source)

giving repentance a cast and making it talent is like your prep mistake with rogue. Ret needs it as instant.
We'd probably get rid of every instant CC if we could. The expansion of instants caused a lot of problems long term. (Source)

please look at rets in PvE GC we bring no unique buff give us attack speed
We are trying to get away from unique buffs. We don't want every group to feel a Ret is mandatory. (Source)

You nerfed Shadow's core abilities without having a concept? Great, exactly what I expected from you.
Sorry you think Shadow is fine in PvP. We disagree and we are not alone. (Source)

please gc, are there still more buffs for disc pvp coming? Pws undispellabe would be glorious.
Not a fan of undispellable anything TBH. (Source)

No other healer has to choose which foot to shoot for 30 seconds either. It an outdated mechanic like tree form
We disagree. Tree form gave up utility and DPS for healing. Chakra lets you focus on DPS, AE or ST but you can still change. (Source)

how are Surge of Darkness/Mindbender even close to a "Strong Cooldown", compared to other casters? Stop joking.
We don't want to give every single spec a 2 min cooldown or whatever. That really leads to classes all feeling the same. (Source)

Curse Weekly Roundup
The Ouya is set to arrive in stores this June, Assassins Creed gets a new hero, Minecraft got some updates, Season 3 games are underway for League of Legends fans, and this week's Game Forecast.